Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy … - Job 10:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 31, 2018): Job 10

Joseph Heller, the author of the war satire “Catch-22,” commented that “There is no disappointment so numbing...as someone no better than you achieving more.” The question of why some achieve success while others labor without it is a hard one for us to understand. Success often comes down to hard work and being able to pursue our goals single-mindedly. But sometimes even that is not enough. Sometimes success seems to come down to dumb luck, or fate, or something else that is well beyond our control. And in the moments when we finally come to understand that, the disappointment can sometimes seem unbearable.

Job is disappointed. He is surrounded by friends who are no better than him. in fact, in the introduction to the story, unbeknownst to Job, God has already judged Job to be the better man among his circle of friends, and yet they seem to be enjoying the pleasures of life while Job suffers. It isn’t fair. Job has been faithful. Job has led an honest life. Job fears God. He has worked hard for everything that he has gained. And now it has all been taken away from him, while his friends enjoy their successes.

Commentators seem to agree that Job is not bitter, but he is very disappointed. This was not the way that he imagined that his life might end. He looks back on his life; he recognizes that the days are short, a lot shorter than he would have imagined at the start. His health has failed. The reality for all of us is that failing health is often what reminds us of our advancing age. As long as our health stays with us, then we feel young. And now, as he contemplates the end of his life, he is no longer surrounded by the family that he once had enjoyed. And in the mind of Job, and in the theology of his friends, the reason for the loss was that Job had somehow failed God.

It is disappointment that causes Job to make one last request. It is too late to replace all that he had lost, but if God would just turn his hard gaze away for one moment, maybe Job could find a moment's happiness before his life came to an end. What Job does not realize is that his strength and ability to meet the challenges in this portion of life is present only because God has refused to avert his eyes. It is the strength of God that has allowed him to move forward through this moment of his life.

Our truth is that often when our circumstances lead us to believe that God is far away, or that he might be angry with us, it is in that moment that he is the closest. In those moments, God allows us to lean on him and use his strength as we struggle to put one foot in front of the other to move forward. And, like Job, the last thing that we need at these times is for God to turn away.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 11

He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. – Job 9:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 30, 2018): Job 9

Since pre-history or the time of Job, we have been picking out patterns in the stars that we see in the sky. Some of the oldest patterns are Ursa Major, or the great she-bear, Orion, and the star cluster Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus. We have invented stories that go along with the constellations and star clusters, and we have watched them as they have moved across the sky marking the seasons and the passage of time.

Some of the sky has changed since the days of Job. Because of precession, or the change in the tilt of the earth since the days of Job, some of the stars that Job would have watched can no longer be seen from the Middle East. And yet, these constellations and others remain as constant reminders to the age of creation, and generations of watchers wonder at them anew. One of the trials of modern life is that because of light pollution; sometimes there are great empty places in the sky devoid of stars. But if we are willing to get outside of the confines of the city and into less populated areas, once again the stars pop into view, inviting to once again wonder about them, and invent our stories of faraway places.

The phrase “constellations of the south” in this verse is a bit misleading or, at the very least, a modern understanding of the idea of constellations. We know that there are constellations that can only be seen from the either the North or South hemispheres. Because I live in the Northern portion of North America, I never see the Southern Cross or Cruz grace the Southern sky. The phrase “constellations of the south” carries this kind of connotation. I know that Cruz exists, but that I have to go south to see it. (From the United States, the best place to view Cruz is in Hawaii.) Cruz is a constellation of the south.

But Job would have had no understanding that the constellations change depending on how far north, or south, you go. He would have lived his entire life within a small area of the earth and had no idea what might have laid beyond the small boundaries of his world. Yet he did know that there were more stars than he could see, and it was more than just that stars rose in the east and set in the west. Some stars were hidden in the south as well. The phrase “constellations of the south” is probably better referred to as “chambers of the south,” at least from the perspective of Job. The creation of God was so vast that he kept some stars in a chamber just south of the horizon. These were stars that Job and his friends would only see during certain times of the year, and some them would never be seen at all.

Job’s point is this; how can anyone pretend to know this God who has created so much more than we will ever see. It is a good point to continue to ponder. We know more than Job did, and we see more than he did, and yet there are still things that are hidden from our eyes, and mysteries that we still cannot understand. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 10

Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers. – Job 8:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 29, 2018): Job 8

Could you recognize a bear if you met one in the wild? I love to drive through the mountains and looking for wildlife, and it is always exciting when you come across an animal while you are on a hike or even one walking by the side of the road. But I am not a naturalist. I can tell the difference between the major species, I know a moose from a mountain goat from a bear, but that is about where it ends. Don’t get me wrong, I know a Grizzly Bear, or more properly called the “North American Brown Bear,” by its famous hump between the shoulder blades, I know that black bears are the smallest of the bear species, and that polar bears inhabit the north and are not really white, but that probably ends it for me. In the wild, and with the fleeting glance of a bear that I might get, I am not sure that I could tell the difference. After all, some black bears are brown, and some brown bears are black. And, in the wild, I don’t often get a long enough look to evaluate whether the ears are longer (Black Bear) or more rounded (Brown Bear). I saw a picture of a Polar bear the other day. She was brown with three black cubs trailing behind her, and it left me realizing how little I know about the differences that exist between even the major bear species. If you want to get into the subspecies of bears, then I am really in trouble.

Bildad maintains a very popular form of theology. He understands that there are those who are blameless or perfect people, what he would call the “tam,” and that there are those who are hypocrites or secretly sinful, what he would call the “chaneph.” The problem is that, on the outside, both types of people look the same. It might be like trying to figure out whether the black bear on the next ridge is really a black bear or whether it is a small or juvenile, black colored brown bear. Sometimes the difference is hard to see unless you can examine them, and often for the novice compare them, a little more closely.

Bildad knows that the “tam” and the “chaneph” are hard to distinguish from each other. In fact, according to Bildad’s theology, there is only one way to do it. To distinguish between the two types of people you have to watch how God reacts to them. If God blesses them, then you know that they are “tam.” But if God appears to curse them, then you know that they are “chaneph” or a secretly evil person pretending to be good. The suffering of Job is proof that he is “cheneph.” So what Job needs to do is to repent of his lifestyle and ask God for his mercy. He needs to stop being “cheneph” and start being “tam.” What Bildad doesn’t understand is that while he may call Job a “cheneph,” God has already declared him to be “tam.”

We still carry Bildad’s theology with us. We judge each other by the outward appearance and by the blessing of God that appears to be placed on our lives. Sometimes we need to be reminded that it is God that knows the heart of a man, no matter what might appear to be happening on the outside. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 9

When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions ... – Job 7:13-14

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 28, 2018): Job 7

I dream. But more than that, I actually remember my dreams. Often my dreams are weird, like some kind of drug infused mania. But occasionally they are disturbing. And sometimes they are scary. And while I dream weird, disturbing and scary dreams, they are seldom a mystery. Last night I dreamed a disturbing dream. Even now as I sit in my office with the sun streaming outside, I can remember the dream, and it continues to disturb. But I don’t have to guess about the reason why the dream occurred. I have a meeting coming up that I have been working hard on, I am stressed, and there is no doubt that it was that meeting that sowed the seeds for the dream.

I need to stress that I am not a prophet. My dreams seldom, if ever, concern the future. My dreams dwell in the events of the past; they concern the things that I have already experienced and not things that are yet to happen. My dreams are dominated by the Ghosts of the Past and Present; the ghost of the future seldom makes an appearance.

I had a dream last night, and it was a disturbing one. The thing that you need to know is that I was tired, and I went to bed fairly early, at least for me. I wanted to get a good night’s sleep and then get an early start on the day. But that was before the dream. I know this about myself. When I have a disturbing dream, my sleep is likewise disturbed. So while I may have gone to bed because I needed to sleep and to rest, the reality is that because of the dream I did not get the rest that I needed.

I think Job understood that feeling. As he talks to his friends, he says that in his exhaustion, and very likely in the midst of a heavy depression, he is lured into his bed. Sleep is an escape from the perils of the present. But even in his sleep, he cannot find the needed rest. Even when he lays down and closes his eyes on his bed, the reality and nightmare of his present situation and all that he has lost intrudes, and he is left having slept but not having rested.

For Job, it would have been better if he could have been visited by the Ghost of the Future, after all, we know how his story turns out. Relief is coming, even though nothing can really replace all that he has lost. But in this moment, all he knows is the torment that visits him during the day, and invades his dreams at night. And all he can do is trust God that there might be some kind of purpose to it all in the end.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 8

Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. – Job 6:14

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 27, 2018): Job 6

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

The words belong to Henri Nouwen, from his book “Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life,” and here Nouwen seems to put his finger on the problem of Job. What Job needed, and what we all need in times of deep stress, was someone to cry with him without trying to cure, to sit with him without the urge to speak, and to touch him without the need to heal. Job needed friends who were willing to face the reality of powerlessness without the urge to go and find a solution. But it was the one thing that his friends simply could not give to him. They wanted to find the cure to the problem and to teach through the pain. But because they did not understand the root cause of the pain, that was a task for which they were woefully unqualified.

Here, Job flips the situation on his failing friend. Eliphaz had argued that Job had forsaken the fear of God or had treated the commands of God lightly. Job had walked where angels fear to tread, and as a result, God was teaching him a valuable lesson. What Job needed to do better at this moment was to heed the lesson, to ask for mercy from God and to promise the Almighty that he would do better in the future. Job replies that it is Eliphaz and the others sitting with him that have forsaken the fear of the Almighty because, while they considered themselves friends of Job, they have withheld their kindness. Although the process was just beginning, Job seemed to know what was coming. Instead of sitting and mourning with their friend, next would come the attempts to give advice, find solutions and cure the situation. And none of this was what Job needed at this moment. Job needed nothing more than friends who were willing to sit and mourn in silence. Job needed friends who would love him when it seemed that the whole world had turned against him.

And every one of us have experienced times when that was all that we needed. A wise friend knows when to sit in silence and when to offer compassionate, constructive advice. Job seemed to have been short on wise friends. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 7

“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. – Job 5:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 26, 2018): Job 5

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Who Watches the Watchers,” the Enterprise is confronted with the discovery of a group of cultural observers when a holographic duck-blind on a primitive planet fails. Because of the failure, the people of the planet are introduced to a new god they now know of as “The Picard,” who is, of course, not a god but simply the Captain of the starship Enterprise. The episode explores our attitudes toward God and our reasons for believing in a Supreme Being. At one point in the episode, Counsellor Troi makes this observation: “Are you sure you know what he (their new god, “The Picard”) wants? That's the problem with believing in a supernatural being - trying to determine what he wants.”

Troi is right; this is the struggle of everyone who believes in some kind of a Supreme Being. Without direct instruction, there is no way to know what it is that God wants. Often we get carried down rabbit trails as we try to explore what it might be that God desires of us. And more often then we might like, we get it wrong. Christianity is rife with wrong beliefs that are built around readings of one verse, or someone’s impression of what God desires of us or commands us to do. I once attended a Bible Study on Revelation where one attendee disagreed with the facilitator’s comment that Revelation was written by a man named John (See Revelation 1:1-2 – “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”) When she was asked why she believed John was not the author, she said that God had told her that Paul wrote it. God told me is a discussion stopper. How can I argue against that? But God told me, without supporting evidence from the Bible, and I would argue without also being supported by the testimony of the church and the experience of people, is always dangerous. And even then, we always have to admit that we might have gotten it wrong. This is one reason why I believe that we need to major on what is the core of our faith – God loves us, and he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for our sins. On the third day, Jesus was raised again to life and now sends us into the world to love those whom the Father created, being the presence of God on the earth. Pretty much anything beyond that we need to hold loosely because there is the possibility that we might have it wrong.

Eliphaz’s words here illustrate the point. What is interesting here is that as a stand-alone verse, the words of Eliphaz are very correct. There are times when God does correct us. And when we understand that fact and heed his correction, we are blessed. The reason why we discipline our children is that we love them and we want them to make the most out of this life. Our discipline shapes them, and it blesses them by preparing them for the future. God’s correction of us serves the same purpose.

What is wrong is that here, in this comment between Eliphaz and Job, the words are misapplied. Because we have read the introduction of the story, we know that there is no correction from God expressed in Job’s current situation. This reveals our struggle, and supports the premise of the fictitious Counselor Troi; by looking at a situation, it is almost impossible to know the will of God. Sometimes we suffer because God is correcting us. But that is not always the case. Sometimes we suffer because Satan is testing us, And this is Job’s current situation. And to make it even worse, sometimes we suffer because stuff happens. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

How do we know? Because we are walking with him, we have kept short accounts with him and with others, and we have considered the actions and effects of our own lives. What we can’t just make assumptions that because someone is suffering, that God is correcting and disciplining them, or we will end up misapplying the truth.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 6

But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. – Job 4:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 25, 2018): Job 4

The worst pain that can ever be felt in the world will be yours. It is a simple truth. I often wonder when I am sick, and the doctor asks me to rate my pain from a one to ten how I could possibly accomplish such a task. I mean, how can I judge pain. For someone who rarely experiences pain of any kind, and I know you are out there, a mild headache might be a nine. For one who is constantly in pain, it might not even register on the scale as a one. The only way that we can know pain is by what we have experienced. And my severe pain will always be worse than yours, because I am experiencing my pain, and I am not experiencing yours.

This simple fact makes empathy almost impossible. When I meet someone in pain, I can sympathize, but I cannot empathize because I don’t know your pain. Recently I had a conversation with someone in great pain, and they asked me how I got through my pain. Now, I think that I know pain, but I really only know my pain. My response to my friend was that I have always been too stubborn in life to allow pain to stop me from accomplishing whatever the task is that I want to achieve. My comment was meant as nothing more than an answer to the question. This is what I do. But the response from my friend indicated that he took it as a criticism. He responded with “I am stubborn too, but there will come a time when you will find that being stubborn is not enough.” Was his comment true? Maybe. I don’t know. Although I have experienced pain in my life, I have never come to that point. I admit that when pain rears its ugly head, I find that working through the pain is often the best medicine. But that can only be my response because it is my pain. And I do not know the pain of anyone else. 

Eliphaz complains that Job had offered his wisdom to those who had suffered in the past, but now he finds it hard to live up to the same advice that he had given. But Eliphaz’s comment fails on two points. First, he regards Job’s pain to be equal to those that Job had counseled, but he had no way of knowing that to be true. Our pain is our pain. Job’s pain is Job’s pain. Comparison in the midst of pain is a useless endeavor. Yes, we need to find coping mechanisms for dealing with pain, and sometimes others can help us with that if we are willing to listen. But we need to understand the simple principle that if the person suffering says the pain is a ten, arguing that their ten is only equal to someone else’s five will accomplish nothing. Pain is pain, and the worst pain we can imagine is our own. Admittedly, as the readers of the story, we know that Job’s pain is extreme and all-encompassing. But it is still Job’s pain.

The second way in which Eliphaz’s comment fails is that it seems to assume that Job should be able to counsel himself through the tragedy. If he had words of wisdom for others who had suffered, then why couldn’t he apply those same words to himself. But again, that is also impossible. When we suffer, we need someone else who will walk with us, offering wisdom when we ask, and remaining silent when we don’t. Eliphaz’s presence was a good thing, but rather than chiding Job for not taking his own advice; it would have been better if he had lovingly offered the advice once more, choosing to simply “be with” Job in his moment of struggle.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 5

“May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’ – Job 3:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 24, 2018): Job 3

The Greek historian Herodotus told a story about a culture that mourned births and celebrated deaths. According to Herodotus, they simply understood, maybe better than others, that life is hard and filled with suffering. This culture brought new life into the world, but they did so reluctantly, recognizing all of the trouble that this young life would have to endure to get to the end of existence. They celebrated death because it was a gateway to the end of the struggle. Death was the final release for which all who suffer long.

Herodotus has been called the “Father of Lies” by his critics, although that might be overstating Herodotus’s career. The reality is that Herodotus seemed to often deal with rumors and legends of which he had no personal experience, something that a modern historian would hopefully never do. So Herodotus's histories are filled with large ants that dig up gold in India, although in his defense there is a Marmot who did do that, and cyclops monsters that guard the gold of Europe.

However, a culture that mourns birth and celebrates death sounds at least possible. Every one of us knows the struggle that life brings. Some of us struggle more than others, but all struggle. And if we were to only focus on the struggle, then maybe we would mourn every time a child was brought into the world and the struggle.

But there is more to life than just the struggle. Life brings its share of pain, but it also brings its share of pleasure. On a personal note, when my wife and I were starting our family, we were cautioned about bringing new a life into our marriage. There was a chance that the child would share the same health issues that I have struggled with all of my life. And yes, my health issues have brought suffering, but at that moment walking out of the doctor’s office, my reaction was “what is wrong if they do end up just like me. I am fairly happy with the life that I have led.” I still am.

But this is nothing more than my experience. The reality here is that Job had reached a breaking point. Satan had argued that he could get Job to curse God, but he was wrong. What Satan was successful in doing was getting Job to curse the day of his birth and to mourn the moment that he was conceived. Job was drawing close to an ending point where he would welcome the release that was found in death.

Up until this point the battle had raged in the arena of Job’s possessions and his health. Now the battle would move on to the arena of his mind and soul. But it is wrong to assume that with these words the battle was coming to an end. It was only beginning, and Job was not about to give up. At least, not yet.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 4

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. – Job 2:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 23, 2018): Job 2

Twentieth-century poet Ogden Nash wrote that “Happiness is having a scratch for every itch.” I seriously believe that every dermatologist should be someone who has had to suffer through some sort of skin ailment. I laugh at the constant instructions of doctors who implore those who are suffering from their skin disease not to scratch the itch. Eventually, I am convinced that the doctor’s advice might save the skin and allow it to heal but, by the time that the healing comes, the patient will have long ago been driven absolutely insane.

If you have never suffered from a serious skin disease, this might be hard to understand, but pain is often more tolerable than the unending itch. I have to admit that I feel a bit of an affinity with Job. Although his situation is much worse than any that I have known, I do sometimes look for something with which to scrape my skin. And if the action brings pain, well, pain has its benefits. It drives the maddening itch away for longer periods of time than anything else that I know. Job’s skin also contained ulcers, and the skin scraping might have been part of Job’s process for cutting open the ulcers and allowing the sores to drain. At any rate, Job was dealing with his affliction in the best way that he knew how.

The comment that he sat in ashes also might have had a medicinal benefit. As strange as it might sound, it is likely that Job had removed himself to the local garbage dump, a place where garbage had been or was in the process of being burned. Ashes have long been used as a sign of mourning, and there is no doubt that Job had much to mourn, but there also might be more to his action than we realize. The residual heat from the fire might have felt very good on the afflicted skin. And, whether or not Job realized this, the burnt garbage might also have been the most sterile place for a man with running sores on his skin to sit. Most of what could have made him sick was already burned in the fire.

But whatever the reasons, the image that we have here is simply of a man trying anything to cope with his condition, to make it through one more day. While those around him seem content to urge him to “curse God and die,” Job seemed to have a drive to stay alive so that he could see tomorrow. This drive for life is something that I think we often miss as an essential part of Job’s character. He was not going to give up. In spite of all that had gone wrong and seemed to be continuing to go wrong, Job had a belief that maybe tomorrow could be different.

And if there are lessons that we need to take from Job’s life, this might be one of them. In the midst of our pain our task is to try to make it one more day; to do whatever is necessary to find our way into tomorrow. And trust that, with God, tomorrow has at least the potential to be better.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 3

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. – Job 1:22

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 22, 2018): Job 1

It is maybe the one thing that people outside of the Christian faith do not understand about Christians and, admittedly, sometimes we don’t understand it either. It might be phrased this way – “Why do Christians thank God for the smallest things and yet refuse to blame him when things go wrong?” As I said, sometimes even Christians don’t quite get it. An old band mate of mine would argue with me that my attitude that said “when everything goes right it is because of God and when everything goes wrong it is because of me” was plain wrong. I worked hard, and I deserved some of the recognition for what went right.

As a Christian, the best way that I can describe the idea is by using a clock. People have been using clocks to describe God for centuries. The idea behind a clockmaker God is that God, like a good clockmaker, put all of the things in motion in this universe. He constructed this universe right so that it would function on its own. And just as the clocks in your home do not need their creator to come by on a daily basis and check the clocks, although I admit that I have owned clocks that from the very beginning seemed to need a check-up from the clockmaker, so this universe is so well created that it was able to work without God. So God, the clockmaker, after he had finished with his creation, walked away. Our world simply didn’t need him anymore.

It might surprise some that I have some respect for the idea of a clockmaker God. In fact, through the beginning stages of creation, God might have been a clockmaker. I believe that God is powerful enough and smart enough to set the mechanism of creation in motion so that it did not require his constant attention. I don’t know if that is the way that it happened, but I think it is at least possible.

Or, at least, it was possible until we showed up. God’s decision to breathe his Spirit into us, to give us the ability to choose and so much more, was a game changer. The world could have still worked fine under our guidance. We could have chosen right and constructive actions. But we didn’t. One of the first things that we did was break the clock. We can put all of the blame on Adam and Eve, but it happens in every generation and every life. We are not good at being constructive. We repeatedly break the clock. Over and over again we break the clock. We don’t break it a little bit. We smash it to pieces. I have smashed the clock to pieces.

The miracle is that the clock still runs. And, from a Christian point of view, the only reason for the clock to run is God. He keeps the broken pieces moving. God keeps my broken pieces moving. Without him, the brokenness is simply too much and the clock, and this world, would simply stop.

Job knew that he was living in a broken world. He believed that somehow God kept the pieces moving. He understood that his ancestors had broken the clock, and that he had broken the clock, and that his children had broken the clock. If the clock worked, it was only because the clockmaker allowed it to work. If the clock stopped, well, he had participated in the breaking. Job was thankful for all that God had given to him. It was much more than he deserved. But if things didn’t go well, maybe something was going on that he just didn’t understand. After all, the clock is broken.

When Christians give thanks for every small thing, it is because we understand how broken we are as people. We shouldn’t function, and yet we do. When things go wrong, and we refuse to blame God, it is not that we do not understand that God had a role in the negative events that cause us to mourn. But we understand that we broke the clock and that we do not deserve all that we have. And deep down, we have faith that the clockmaker knows more about the clock than we do. And that even when things go wrong, he is holding us – loving us. And that even the wrong things are evidence of the clockmakers continued touch as he fixes all that is broken around us. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 2

These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood. – Genesis 10:32

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 21, 2018): Genesis 10

It might be the curse of contemporary society that we are separated from our origins. Sometimes the separation is voluntary, but it can be forced. A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a friend who was forced from his place of origin by war and political unrest. He had come to North America, along with Mom and Dad and several brothers, to find a place of peace where they could begin to rebuild their lives. Admittedly, they carried pieces of the land of their origin with them, but increasingly seemed to find that they belonged nowhere; neither in their place of origin nor their newly adopted world. I was surprised to learn that Mom and Dad had plans to move back home at some time in the future. But I also questioned whether it would happen. As the kids grew up, established roots and began to have children, this would become their land of origin in a way that it would never be for mom and dad. The question that would seem to remain is which pull is more significant; the desire to return to the land of your beginnings, or the pull that is created with children, and soon grandchildren who know little or nothing of, and have no connection with, the land “back home.” My guess is that the pull of descendants will top that of history and a place of origin. The love that we have for our children is often stronger than the pull of history will ever be able to match.

The Bible contains two origin stories. The first is that of Adam and Eve. It is a story of a Garden, a mandate by a creator, the first sin, which created the first gap between God and his creation, the first child and the first murder. But this origin story seemed doomed to fail almost from the beginning. Adam and Eve are kicked out of the Garden and forced into a harder life than they had experienced up to this point. After the first murder, life got even harder. Eventually, the righteous were apparently few and evil reigned in the world. This is the world that gave birth to Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Like my friends who were forced to run from the land of their origin by war and political unrest, the evil of the world forced Noah and his family into the role of immigrants. They ran from their place of origin, in this case in an Ark, and were forced into a new life and a new existence -  and the necessity of a second origin story. Genesis simply reminds us that is from this place, and not from the first origin story, that we descend. It is the children of Noah that have populated the earth.

It is also the second origin story that contains the greatest point of connection for contemporary society. We do not know anything about perfect Gardens and a land without sin. We are all immigrants in a strange land. Adam and Eve may have walked with God, along with Enoch and few others in the first origin story, but Noah and his sons were forever separated from that God by both evil and a flood. Like us, they did not know or live in the land of their origin. That had been stolen away from them. Their experiences in an evil world had damaged them from the very beginning. And they had no connection with their God; they stood, like us, in need of a revelation.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 1

But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. – Genesis 9:4

But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. – Genesis 9:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 20, 2018): Genesis 9

It infatuates us. It lives in our dreams, and in our nightmares. It is the necessity of a vampire. It is the key that is needed to open a mystically or supernaturally locked door. It is the record of your ancestry. If you will drink it, it has the power to transform you into whatever being possessed it before you. Increase it, and you will perform better, decrease it and you will feel tired. Drain it and, even though everything else in your body is working perfectly, you will die. It is your blood. Admittedly, not everything that everyone believes about blood is true, but there is no doubt that blood is special. It is the substance that carries our life force. And as of yet, no other substance has been discovered or created that can enable life. And so, blood is often said to be in you to donate. It is an absolutely marvelous thing to know that the life force inside of you can be given away, causing other people to have a chance to live; even when their life is compromised because of a lack of blood.

Because it is the force of life, and not because of any superstitious beliefs, blood is to be respected. According to God, it doesn’t matter where the blood originates; it deserves our respect. Drinking the blood of a wolf will not give you the power of a wolf, no matter what that thriller that you read says, but it is a life force without which the wolf cannot live. And because all life comes from God, respect for the lifeblood of any animal is commanded of us.

Of course, in our contemporary understanding, we know that there are many reasons to be careful with blood, not the least of these are that blood and other bodily fluids have the potential to carry disease. In ancient times, great care was exercised in making sure that all the blood was removed from an animal, which often included salting the meat to draw out any fluids that might remain in the animal. Blood from the very beginning has been considered to be both important, and sacred.

For the Christian, blood takes on another meaning. We carry an image of the blood of Christ being “donated” to us to give us life. The apostle Paul writes these words: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself (or gave his blood) for me” (Galatians 2:20). The life that we live is only available to us because of the lifeblood that Jesus freely release and donated to us.

Knowing the great respect for blood that Judaism holds, it is not hard to imagine the revulsion created by an important ritual in the Christian faith. We often hear the words spoken over the Table of the Lord, “the blood of Christ, poured out for you. Take, drink, and remember.” The ritual seems to violate this respect for blood that was commanded from the earliest times. Of course, it is not blood that we are drinking. It is juice or maybe wine, depending on the faith and the section of the tray from which you took your cup. But the ritual, albeit offensive to some, is a reminder that all life comes from blood. And our life comes from the blood of Christ, which we symbolically partake of in this sacred moment. We are possessors of a truth that others may miss. We need to be continually reminded that our life comes only from his blood. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 10

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my daughter-in-law Michelle. I hope you have a great day.

Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” – Genesis 8:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 19, 2018): Genesis 8

T. S. Eliot in “Little Gidding” writes “For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." For something new to begin, something else has to end. It has always been that way, and will always be that way. An ending is required if we are to start something that is really new, and not just the old dressed up a little differently. We cannot hold onto the past and embrace the future; life doesn’t work that way.

The flood brought an ending, but it also brought a new beginning. Noah would become the new Adam, although not with all of the advantages that Adam had possessed. The Garden of Eden was gone, and Noah would be cursed with the memory of the world as it had existed before the flood. Still, this was a beginning. The old had quite literally been washed away. Noah would be given the opportunity to do whatever it was that he wanted with this clean slate that laid before him.   

According to the ancient tale, the ark had protected a sampling of creation from the flood waters. And God had protected the Ark. There is no mention that any of the animals had died on the year-long voyage. Somehow there had been enough of everything for all to survive the long winter rain.

And then, as the water returned to the place from where it had originated, the animals went forth onto the earth once again, returning to the lives that had been taken away from them by the rain and their shelter on the Ark. At this point, God’s instructions once were once more reinforced – go forth and multiply; go and fill the earth. Be the new beginning for which an end was created; the planet waited for life once again to fill the planet.

Welcome to the new world, and a fresh start. God had created a place to begin again.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 9

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. – Genesis 7:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 18, 2018): Genesis 7

Nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer argued that “The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.” For the first forty years, we live and experience life. But as we get older, our experiences turn into remembrances, and we are left with the task of explaining or giving meaning to what it is that we chose to do. But maybe one question that we need to ask, even in the mind of Schopenhauer, is this -  is this a hard and fast rule? As soon as I turn forty-one, does my life suddenly move from experience to explanation?

The answer is of course not. Schopenhauer’s greatest work, “The World as Will and Representation” actually turns 200 years old this year. And in the past two hundred years, much has changed. For one thing, we seem to live longer. Two weeks ago my Grandmother turned 103. It was an extraordinary accomplishment, but she is the second of grandparents to live beyond the century mark. And if we include my wife’s grandparents, we can add one more grandparent who surpassed the century mark. The youngest grandparent to die was in his seventies, and he died as the result of an accidental fall. We live longer. So maybe we should change the numbers in Schopenhauer’s equation.

But to change the numbers in Schopenhauer’s equation would indicate that we missed Schopenhauer’s point. This was not about a certain finite number. When Schopenhauer spoke the words, the meaning was that the first portion of our lives is text, the next portion is explanation. For some of us, the text extends well beyond the age of forty; for others, we start the task of explanation while we are still in our thirties, and sometimes in our twenties. Numbers are like that. In philosophy, or in any explanation of life, numbers are never intended to be taken literally. Taking numbers literally is a task best left to mathematicians.

So, during the time of Noah, it rained for forty days and nights. Does that mean that there were exactly forty days of rain? Maybe, but not necessarily. Forty is a fairly common number in the Bible. And it usually indicates a time of upheaval and change. The world that emerges after the forty is vastly different from the one that existed before. So, the spies went into Canaan to scout out the land for forty days, and Israel spent forty years in the desert before entering the land that had been promised to them. The time spent indicates a significant change. When Jesus started his ministry, he spent forty days in the desert. His forty days in the desert indicated that there was a change. At Cana, he argued with his mother that his time had not yet come. But the forty days indicate that now his time had come, and the forty days usher in this long-awaited time of the Messiah.

The rain fell for forty days and forty nights. The world before this time was vastly different than the one that existed before. Whether or not it was actually forty days is not really important, just as Schopenhauer’s forty years isn’t really the point. The point that we cannot miss is that this was a time of huge upheaval and, as a result of this upheaval, the world will never be the same again.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 8

Noah did everything just as God commanded him. – Genesis 6:22

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 17, 2018): Genesis 6

The British, and anonymous, street artist Banksy wrote that “the greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” While the artist might be overstating the facts, it is true that obedience is not always a good thing. Some orders should never be obeyed. But the struggle is that we do not always know which orders are problematic. Those who follow orders do not always have all of the necessary information available to them to make the proper judgment call. For instance, was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki an example of an order that should not have been followed? More than seventy years after the event, and with much more information than the bomber crews had at the time, we still argue over that question. But the reality continues to be that the only country on the planet that has actually used Nuclear weapons on a civilian population is the United States, a fact that bothers the conscience of many people.

Knowing what is ethical when following the orders of a flesh and blood leader is hard, but when it is the orders of God, it is both harder and easier. We can attack the easier first. God is omniscient. He knows all of the possible eventual outcomes. And on top of that, he is good. What he desires is, well, godly. But the problem is that we do not see him clearly. God is separated from us, and we see him darkly, often inferring what God wants through the lens of our own desires and actions, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. For some, “God said it” is enough. But I struggle with that thought. I am aware of how I can twist his words so that what I want is what he wants. I need to wrestle with the word of God, to know how he works on this earth. And in this wrestling, I need to try hard to remove myself from the equation. I try to not understand the situation with my understanding, but rather with his.

All of this struggle brings us to the Great Flood. I have always been bothered by the way that the Great Flood is described in the Bible. This God who sent his Son to die on a cross for the sins of man is described as being frustrated and regretting the act of creation in the first place. And so he sets out to destroy all life, man, and animal, on the planet. The story works well as an explanation of the reality of a Great Flood, and we know that there was a massive flood, if not a global one. But the story fails as a description of God. So the question that I want to ask is this; in his obedience, is it possible that Noah got it wrong? The answer is that I think it is possible, but I can’t be sure. And the evidence is found in certain other stories of the Bible.

The first story is this one. God tells Noah to build an Ark. His response is to build one, and then he saves his family and a sampling of the animals, and the rest of creation dies. Story two happens a little later in Genesis (Genesis 18 and 19). Abraham meets with three visitors. In the meeting, he learns of God’s decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities because of their sin. Abraham’s response is to plead for the cities with the familiar “if there are fifty righteous, forty righteous … ten righteous, will you spare the city” argument. Abraham wrestles a bit with God. God agrees, but there are not even ten righteous in the cities. The result is that the cites, with all of their animals, are destroyed. The third story I think sets the example for us. This story is found in Exodus 32. The people rebel against God by creating a Golden Calf. Once again the anger of God burns against the people and he is getting ready to destroy the children of Israel and start over again with Moses. But Moses pleads with God. “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written” (Exodus 32:31-32). Moses stands in the midst of the people and asks God for forgiveness. He is unwilling to be the one who escapes from God’s judgment. Instead, even though he had nothing to do with the building of the Golden Calf, Moses stands in the midst of the people and cries out for God’s mercy. Moses’s response reminds me of words that were written by the prophet Joel centuries later. “Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God’” (Joel 2:17)? I believe that we are called to stand between the porch where the people live and the altar, the dwelling place of God, and to plead on their behalf – even if it is not our sin. Moses did what neither Noah nor Abraham were willing to do. The result of Moses’s actions is that the people of Israel were spared, with all of their animals.”

The fourth story is that of Jonah, yes, of Jonah and the Whale. God asks Jonah to intercede on behalf of the evil people of Nineveh. Jonah refuses and then relents. He goes to Nineveh, and God saves Nineveh, but Jonah isn’t happy. Instead, he pouts. Listen to the closing words of the Jonah story. “Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals” (Jonah 4:11)?

There is no question that Noah followed the instructions of God. But it also seems to me that sometimes that is not enough. God wants us to wrestle with him over things, to be a Moses in the places that we live because the fate of people and animals hang in the balance.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 7

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. – Genesis 5:21

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 16, 2018): Genesis 5

Over the past decade, I have been intrigued by the Celtic idea of “a thin place.” In Celtic thought, a thin place is a spot on the earth where the realms of heaven and earth seem closer, almost touching. It is here that God can be felt the most clearly. The belief about the existence of thin places in Ireland and Scotland long predates any Christian conversion or thought, but this concept has taken root in Celtic Christian theology. Franciscan Priest Richard Rohr calls these places “the edge.” “The edge is a holy place, or as the Celts called it, “a thin place” and you have to be taught how to live there. To take your position on the spiritual edge of things is to learn how to move safely in and out, back and forth, across and return.” After all, in these places, heaven touches the earth.

While I think that it is quite possible that thin places exist, I often wonder if these thin places are more transient than we sometimes believe. As God’s Spirit covers the earth, the flow deepens in places, maybe for a moment or sometimes for much longer, creating a thin place. There are many examples of these thin places or thin times in the Bible. Moses seemed to know about thin places. He experienced one in the wilderness when he confronted the fire that did not consume the bush. The Tabernacle, and later the Temple, appear to be an example of a thin place. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seemed to find a thin place in the furnace, as did Daniel in the Lion’s Den. The manger in Bethlehem was a thin place, as was the cross at Golgotha. In all of these places, God seems to have touched the earth in a very special way.

Enoch also seems to have walked on a thin place. Genesis openly states that Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years (Genesis 5:22). If we take the 300 years literally, then we can begin Enoch’s walk with God from the birth of his son Methuselah. At the moment of his son’s birth, Enoch discovered a thin place.

And as further proof, we have the name he gave to his child, Methuselah. The origins of the name are now lost in time, but we do know what the name means. Methuselah means “when he dies, it comes.” Methuselah was Enoch’s prophecy. Something was going to happen when Methuselah breathed his last breath.

Of course, we know what the something was. Methuselah is probably best known for being the longest living person in the Bible. He lived an incredible 969 years. But he died in the same year as the Great Flood of Noah. God waited until Methuselah died, and quite possibly kept Methuselah alive until the time was right and Noah was ready with his Ark. And then, as Methuselah breathed his last breath, the rain began to pour down on the earth. God had kept the word that he had given to Enoch at that thin place. “When he dies, it comes.” 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 6

Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear.” – Genesis 4:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 15, 2018): Genesis 4

Behavioral Psychologist and Social Philosopher B. F. Skinner argued that “a person who has been punished is not less inclined to behave in a given way; at best, he learns how to avoid punishment.” In the end, that might be the same thing. Avoidance of punishment is, in itself, a change in behavior. The problem with punishment is that we are egocentric people; all we really see is ourselves and the effect that actions have on our world. According to Skinner, punishment does nothing to change that worldview. The reality is that anything that we do, we do because it makes our world better. A child steals a candy bar because it wants to taste the chocolate. If a child is punished for the theft, that behavior may be changed because the punishment brings more pain than the candy bar brought pleasure. But if the punishment is less than the pleasure received, or if the punishment is non-existent, or even just inconsistent, then the child will continue to steal candy bars. This is the dance that is performed in homes with young children on an almost daily basis; parents struggle to find an appropriate penalty for negative behavior that will make that behavior not worth pursuing.

Skinner also believed that there was another way. He truly believed that, given a young child and a providing the child with a consistent model of behavior, he could change the paradigm so that the negative behavior would never be considered in the first place, removing the need for punishment. But the challenge was starting young and being consistent.

At first glance, Cain’s words are infuriating. After all, Abel is dead; Cain still wanders the earth. Supporters of Capital Punishment might argue that any punishment less than death was not enough. Fans of the television show “Lucifer” know that in that comic book rendering of Cain, part of his penalty was never to die, leaving him wanting death, wanting the cessation of life that he gave to his brother, but never being able to receive it himself. The punishment had truly become more than he could bear.

But the truth is that Cain was being given something that Abel would never receive. His sin compounded that of his parents, but he would continue to eke out a life when his brother had none. The fact that the punishment was more than Cain could bear is probably the way that it should have been. He was the reason that his brother had died, which was more than Abel could handle. Anything less, and Cain might not have bothered to change his behavior; he wouldn’t have felt that punishment for his crime was something that needed to be avoided.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 5

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 14, 2018): Genesis 3

Some years ago I spent some time studying L. Frank Baum’s book, “The Wizard of Oz.” The book at its core is an allegory expressing the opinion of Baum that the United States needed to move from an economic model based on a Gold Standard, toward one based on a Silver Standard. As hard as it might be to believe today, there was a time when the amount of money that the government could print was limited by the amount of gold that the government had in its vaults. Because gold was a rare commodity, the lack of gold meant that more money could not be printed to keep the economy running. By switching to a silver standard, with silver being the more plentiful metal, then more money could be put into circulation to help farmers and others with their business. Today, the value of the national currency is based on the health of the national economic system of the nation. No longer does the dollar bill you carry in your wallet correspond to a certain amount of gold locked away in some government vault.

And so the images in “The Wizard of Oz” are very specific. In the book, Dorothy does not have ruby shoes, they are silver, reminding the reader of the silver standard. The Yellow Brick Road is a representation of the gold standard. But maybe most important imagery in the book is used to describe the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. Each has a lack. The Scarecrow wants to be smart, the Tin Man wants a heart so that he can become compassionate, and the Lion lacks the courage that he needs to move through life, or down the Yellow Brick Road which can only carry you toward the Wizard of Oz.

Of course, it is all also a lie. The Scarecrow is already smart; he just doesn’t know it. The Tin Man is compassionate and already possesses a heart. And the Lion is not a coward. All of these traits need to be unlocked. And, of course, it is Dorothy, the girl in the silver shoes, that unlocks them. In the mind of L. Frank Baum, a move to the Silver Standard would unlock the hidden potential in all of the people of his day.

As Satan confronts Eve, it should not be surprising that he lies. From the first moment that he opens his mouth, the lies start to pour out. But the most important lie might be here. Eve, if you eat from the tree at the center of the Garden, you will become like God. The truth; Adam and Eve were already like God; they had been created in his image. What they were about to gain was an experiential knowledge of Good and Evil, something that God actually lacks. In this one moment, they would find out what it was like to oppose God and commit sin. At this moment they would not become more like God, but less like him.

It had been a test, and Adam and Eve failed. And so God had no choice but to remove them from the Garden. Where God had passed his test and had not committed evil, his creation had failed. And at that moment, we became less like the one who created us.      

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 4

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. – Genesis 2:25

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 13, 2018): Genesis 2

There is a great scene in the television series “M*A*S*H” where the whole camp seems to be looking for Margaret Houlihan, and they can’t find here anywhere. Finally, Colonel Potter asks if anyone has checked the ladies showers and, at that moment, everyone looks at Radar. Radar is known to have peeped into the showers once or twice, but here Radar’s reply is “Can’t someone else go – nudity makes me breathe funny.” Colonel Potter, in his special way, assures Radar that it has the same effect on him, but that Radar is the only one that Potter can trust with the job and, after all, he would never get Hawkeye out of the women’s showers if he sent him instead. And Potter ushers the company clerk out of his office. Nudity affects us.

Maybe it isn’t surprising that before the first sin, nudity wasn’t a problem. But nudity is the point. Up until now, there had been nothing to hide, from each other or God. Up until this point, clothes would not have been understood. But in a few short verses, all of that will change. After they eat from the tree of life we come to a passage that reads like this – “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:7). And then, a few short verses later, the voice of God is heard in the garden asking where our first parents might be (as if he didn’t already know). Adam’s response to God was “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). Nudity is the point – and I don’t know what to do with that because I have to admit that nudity makes me breathe funny too.

But I also have to admit that modesty does not seem to be innate inside of any us either. It is something that seems to grow with our awareness of all that is wrong in this world. Our toddlers think nothing of undressing in the middle of the room with the whole world watching. The whole argument between mom and dad and teenagers – especially teenage girls – seems to hover around the idea of “you are not going out dressed like that.” We don’t get it. In fact, I would venture to say that it is only as we begin to comprehend how fallen this world in which we live is that the need for modesty becomes a more pressing requirement. And that only happens as we get older.

Adam and Eve were naked, and they felt no shame, but there are also many kinds of nudity. But, at this moment, they had nothing to hide from each other – or from God. They were naked, and they felt no shame. There is an incredible beauty in these words, as well as an incredible innocence. And the first casualty of sin was this innocence – and it is not really a surprise that once they had sinned, they felt a pressing need to cover up their bodies. It isn’t until that moment that they felt shame, and then that the fig leaves were hurriedly put together.

But here in the Garden of Eden, before all that took place, there could be no shame.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 3